Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire
Historical country
Territories of the Ottoman Empire around its height in 1593.
Location of the Ottoman Empire (1880)
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Categories: Ottoman Empire • People

The Ottoman Empire was a historical nation centred in Anatolia, or modern-day Turkey. Founded by ‘Uthmán (Osman I) in the late 13th century, the Ottoman Empire lasted around 600 years, becoming one of the world's greatest powers during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its height, the Ottomans controlled much of southeastern Europe, including the Balkan states and the Black Sea; North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula; and the modern-day territory of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Israel in the Middle East. In later centuries, the empire fell into steady decline, with corruption, economic difficulties and social unrest taking their toll. Despite attempts at reform, the empire lost significant amounts of territory during the 18th and early 19th centuries, and events such as the Young Turks' rebellion and World War I eventually led to the empire's dissolution.

The Ottoman Empire provided an important backdrop for the development of the Bahá’í Faith. The city of Karbilá in Ottoman Iraq was an important centre of the Shaykhi school of Shi'a Islam, which provided the context for the birth of the Revelation of the Báb. After his imprisonment in 1852, Bahá’u’lláh was exiled to Ottoman territory with His family and many of His followers, first to Baghdád and thereafter to Constantinople, Adrianople, and the prison-city of 'Akká. Many of His most important works were revealed during this exile. The modern-day Bahá’í World Centre, located in what is presently Israel, was part of Ottoman Syria when Bahá’u’lláh arrived there in 1868.